An Oprah's Book Club Pick and an instant New York Times bestseller

'Moving, funny and utterly engrossing' The Sunday Times, Five Reads for the Beach

'The kind of book you don't want to put down' Oprah Winfrey
'I can't think of another book I have annotated so heavily, underlining phrases on almost every page' The Times

'[A] brilliantly panoramic tale of family ties... Puchner tells his tale so compellingly, so engagingly, with such warmth and humor, that it's not until you set the book down that you can appreciate the breadth and brilliance of what he's done' The Guardian

'I love a slightly oversized American novel, one that's going to take you on a journey' Times Radio

'A transporting wonder... A rare pleasure' Ron Charles, Washington Post

'A totally involving and moving literary page-turner' Clare Chambers, author of Shy Creatures

Cece is in love. She has arrived early at her in-laws' beautiful lake house in Salish, Montana, to finish planning her wedding to Charlie, a cardiac anaesthesiologist with a brilliant future.

When Charlie asks Garrett, his best friend from college, to officiate the ceremony, Cece can't imagine anyone less appropriate for the task. After all, Garrett, a depressed baggage handler at the local airport, doesn't believe in marriage. But as she spends time with him and his gruff mask slips, she grows increasingly uncertain about her future, leading to an impulsive decision that will alter the three friends' lives forever - the events of that summer reverberating across fifty years and spanning generations.

'As funny as it is devastating... I haven't been this dazzled by a novel in a long time' Lit Hub

'Expansive... explores how we might make meaning of our existence in the face of escalating loss' New Yorker

'I loved Dream State. I did not stop reading it for three days straight' Jessie Burton, author of The Miniaturist